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Marconi Sailing Club

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Sprint 15 TT Series at Marconi SC

On the 18th and 19th July 16 Sprint 15s contested the third round of the 2009 Traveller Trophy series at Marconi SC on the River Blackwater. Those who arrived early on Saturday morning were greeted by a stiff force 6 westerly blowing against the last of the flood tide. The resulting chop did not look inviting.

Racing got underway at 12 noon, by which time the tide turned and the wind had moderated to a gusty force 4. Race 1 was set over an elongated triangular course producing an upwind-downwind contest. The first lap was closely fought with Jenny Ball (Marconi) eventually pulling out a modest lead from Gordon Goldtsone (Queen Mary) with a chasing pack not far behind. As the race continued Jenny extended her lead, with Gordon also pulling clear of the rest. Unfortunately, equipment failure robbed Gordon of an almost certain 2nd place finish. Local sailor Kevin Dowley (Marconi) took up the chase. Capitalizing on the shifty wind, Kevin closed in on the lead during the final upwind leg, but Jenny had done enough to take the gun, followed by Kevin, James Tovey (Marconi) and Erling Holmerg (Shanklin).

The wind and tide conditions remained unchanged for race 2, but the race officer opted for a shorter beat and the addition of a close reach at the leeward end of the course. Again the 1st lap generated close racing with Erling Holmberg (Shanklin) leading around the windward mark with Howard Hawkes (Thorpe Bay) and David Ball (Marconi) in close pursuit. These 3 boats rounded the leeward mark just feet apart with a chasing pack close behind. David edged ahead by the bottom mark, then caught the best of the wind shifts to reach the windward mark with a clear lead that he held to the finish. Competition for the remaining places was tight with tide and unpredictable breeze resulting in frequent position changes. Once again Gordon Goldstone pulled clear into 2nd and this time got the deserved result, with Jenny Ball just holding Peter Tovey (Marconi) on the finish line to take 3rd and 4th respectively.

After a hard day’s hiking it was back to shore for warm showers in Marconi SC’s smart new changing rooms, followed by tea & cake, “liquid nourishment” and an evening meal prepared by Tina and her galley staff.

Sunday dawned with the gusty west wind still in evidence. The earlier start time and later tide saw race 3 get underway in challenging wind over tide conditions. A long-distance figure-of-eight course was set around Northey and Osea Islands. The combination of wind, tide and waves was hard to read and positions changed regularly during the long upwind leg. Approaching the western tip of Northey Island, Peter Tovey emerged in first place, hotly pursued by son James Tovey in 2nd. Further back, David Ball, Kevin Dowley and Jenny Ball rounded just boat lengths apart and set off downwind in pursuit. Peter and James extended their lead to finish 1st and 2nd with the remainder of the fleet some way behind. Jenny and David fought a close battle around the back of Osea Island, with Jenny briefly taking 3rd position 100 metres from the finish only for David to sneak back in front on the line. Kevin Dowley, somewhat bemused by the eratic course of the duelling siblings in front came home in 4th.

The break for lunch thankfully coincided with a nasty squall with force 7 gusts and heavy. After the squall had passed brighter skies appeared and a more gentle force 2-3 set in. At last it looked like there would be some respite for tired limbs and torsos.

Race 4 resurrected the trapezoid course from race 2. As the start approached the wind gradually increased until it was back to the gusty conditions of race 3 – so much for a gentle finale. Once again, Erling Holmberg lead into the first mark with a chasing group including Howard Hawkes, Peter Tovey, David Ball, Jenny Ball and James Tovey not far behind. Heading back upwind to complete the first lap Erling retained his lead from Peter Tovey with David Ball in 3rd. Crossing the start-finish line to start lap 2 the wind freshened further to force 6 with James Tovey and David Ball capitalising on the change in conditions to challenge for the lead. David eventually rounded the windward mark in 1st place, with James less than a minute behind. At this point the wind freshened further still to register force 7 on the club weather station. Peter Tovey rounded the windward mark in 3rd place at just the wrong time and was unable to avoid a spectacular pitch-pole as he attempted to turn downwind. He righted his boat without assistance to set off in pursuit of Kevin Dowley who had snuck past in the meantime. Nevertheless, with other capsizes and pitch-poles occurring the majority of competitors decided discretion was the better part of valor and retired to the shore.

Approaching the leeward mark David Ball opted to gybe rather than 360 and narrowly survived a pitch-pole with the boat somehow recovering from the point of no return to land right way up. James Tovey following behind was not so lucky and suffered a full pitch-pole and capsize that separated him from his boat. In a demonstration of sportsmanship and seamanship Kevin Dowley coming up behind turned his boat around in the difficult conditions and sailed back upwind to assist James until a support boat arrived. As he manoeuvred to rejoin the race Kevin had the misfortune to suffer his own capsize, and recovered in 3rd place with Peter Tovey back through into 2nd. With only 3 of the 14 starters still competing and a busy support boat fleet, the race officer shortened at 2 laps. David Ball took the gun, which was enough to secure first place overall. Peter crossed the line 2nd with Kevin close behind in 3rd.

The Sprint 15 TT series is kindly sponsored by Windsport Catparts. Peter Tovey, Erling Holmberg and Fenella Miller were the fortunate names drawn from a hat to receive £15, £10 and £5 of Windsport vouchers respectively. All competitors from this and other Sprint 15 TT events until March 2010 also receive free entry to a draw to win a new mainsail and jib.

Overall Results:

1st David Ball (Marconi) 5 pts;

2nd Peter Tovey (Marconi) 7 pts;

3rd Jenny Ball (Marconi) 8 pts;

4th Kevin Dowley (Marconi) 10 pts;

5th James Tovey (Marconi) 12 pts;

6th Erling Holmberg (Shanklin) 15 pts;

7th Peter Richardson (Marconi) 22 pts;

8th Howard Hawkes (Thorpe Bay) 25 pts;

9th Gordon Goldstone (Queen Mary) 27 pts;

10th Keith Chidwick (Queen Mary) 28 pts;

11th George Stephen (Queen Mary) 31 pts;